NOTES for Luk 24:13-35

If, in the preceding account, the women never encountered the risen Jesus and became participants in the Gospel of the Resurrection through faith in His word alone, here a real meeting is described for us. Christ, unrecognized by the travelers, remains Himself, and they truly shared conversation and a meal with Him, even though they recognized Him only at the very last moment. Before, Jesus taught the crowds and openly disputed with the scribes and Pharisees; after the Resurrection, however, He can be seen and recognized only by those who desire it with all their heart. And this recognition takes place precisely in the heart: “Did not our hearts burn within us?” The experience of these two disciples is open to everyone who cannot resign himself to the death of hope. In fact, it is the experience of the Church, when “two or three are gathered” to meet Christ in Scripture—for everything there is written about Him—and to recognize His presence at the table of the Kingdom.